The Last Witch: 3.5: Chapter 23

on the sofa, I hold her hand. No matter how hard I try to fix it and heal those burns, they refuse to leave her body.

I tell them all what happened. I tell them who Ash truly was. I tell them what he and Clara did.

‘Is he still alive?’ asks Amara, taking the tea Connor offers. ‘Ash?’

‘I think so,’ I reply. ‘But he’s trapped. Sealed away in that Dark place.’ I lift my worried gaze to meet hers. ‘He’s powerful. He’s an Arcane now. He unlocked all his powers, and they are powerful. That magic was… it was something else. But he’s trapped over there.’

‘Shame,’ Gabriel mutters, gazing at Callie. ‘I would very much like to repay him for all of this.’

‘They said there were others like them. Other witches that practise Dark Magic. They said they had their own coven and had plans. More of The Stolen could be with them, or join them if offered the chance to return to the human world.’ I look at them all. ‘There could be more besides the ones we killed or caught.’

‘Their leader is gone. As is their weapon,’ Gabriel says. ‘Without an Arcane, there is no way to access that place again. We will destroy what remains of the Bloodstones. Turn them all to dust. And we will search this whole realm for any others who may have been in that coven.’

I stroke Callie’s brand-new red hair.

‘She’s an Arcane now, and we must protect her and guide her at every turn.’ I look again at her hand and I take in a shaky breath. ‘I want to know of every single man born with access to Energy magic.’

‘Why?’ Amara asks.

‘Because someone with that magic is going to kill Callie.’

‘What?!’ Gabriel says in a hush.

I show him her hand. ‘Look familiar?’ I ask, watching him closely as he looks at our girl’s scarred hand.

‘Shit…’ he whispers, his fingers resting on the edge of his lip. ‘But… it was you. We saw you in your vision.’

‘We saw a woman who looked like me, with my hair. We saw an Arcane with a burnt hand die. And the man who kills her has lightning on his hand. Ash is gone. He’s trapped. But there are witches who will still meddle with the Dark Magic. There aren’t many. They admitted that themselves. But they are out there. And I want them all caught. And I want every man, woman and child with Energy magic listed and monitored. From now until the end of time. Because no one will hurt my child. Not again. Not ever again.’

I rest my hand on her head and delve into her mind. And I take away the memories of what happened tonight. I take away her memories of the death and blood and carnage. I eradicate the memories of the horrors she saw and felt in that other realm. I take it all.

Her dreams will remain just that. Dreams.

No nightmares. Not for her.

Never for her.